_However_ if some rogue group comes along (and I hope that we
are a long distance from where Larry Roberts would be considered
a "rogue group", even though I have disagreed about some things
he has advocated in the past and may do so in the future) and
has the resources and commitment to deploy an IP option, I think
we need to register it to protect the community from the bad
option, not pretend that not registering it will somehow prevent
them from deploying their ideas.
And then, if we are convinced the idea is bad enough, we need to
do what _will_ prevent the bad idea from being actively used,
which is to do, and write up the analysis of why it is bad and
what problems it will cause.
But the notion that the IETF can prevent something from
happening or being deployed by declining to register it, or by
turning our collective backs on it without any real explanation
-- even at the waist of the hourglass-- is, in this world, just
delusional. And, if that delusion prevents the IETF community
from explaining, carefully and in public why the idea is a bad
one, then it is we who are putting the Internet at risk.
Basically I think we need to do whatever will be most effective at
discouraging the bad idea. If that means any of the following:
- not registering the idea, or
- registering the idea and clearly marking it as bad, or
- delaying registration of the idea until such time as it can be
improved or the harm can be limited,
any of those are fine with me. Circumstances vary from one
case to another, and according to how bad the idea is, and the
best action in one case might not be the best in another.
So basically I think we need to leave such decisions to the
discretion of a well-informed group of people, e.g. the IESG.
I do think the IESG should solicit community input on the
proposal, but I don't think the Internet community would be
well served by criteria that insisted that we register any IP
extension that someone proposed. And if IESG makes mistakes,
well, that's what the appeals process is for.
Keith
_______________________________________________
Ietf mailing list
Ietf(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org
https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf